Everton 2 Middlesbrough 0: David Moyes has been a dark and brooding presence since Everton's return to Europe ended in farce 11 days ago but the clouds lifted in tandem with his club's rise to fifth in the Premier League here. And just in time.
European hangovers derailed Everton's entire season in 2005 and ahead of a defining Uefa Cup return at Metalist Kharkiv on Thursday there was therapy for the Scot in the manner of this victory over Middlesbrough. An unpolished performance, yet one that yielded opportunity, goals, a clean sheet and the return of the club's finest talent brought rich encouragement for Moyes before the journey to Ukraine and the challenge of reaching the group stages.
His spirits, and those of the Everton squad, were in need of resuscitation. "This is the start of a big week for us," said Moyes. "Expectations have risen here, not just among the supporters and media but from myself too, and maybe I've been too critical. It was a difficult night against Metalist, we should have been two or three-nil up and came in at 1-1, but I can sense things are starting to change for us now."
There is a decent team waiting to emerge at Everton but it will be a delayed transition while Moyes has to persist with a central midfield of Phil Neville and Phil Jagielka. Both players have value in a squad with aspirations of progressing in the Uefa Cup and qualifying for Europe again next season, but ostensibly that should be in defence and not at the heart of a team needing more accurate distribution and invention.
Neville impressed at right-back in the League Cup win over Sheffield Wednesday but with Thomas Gravesen and Tim Cahill injured, and Lee Carsley rested here before the trip to Ukraine, the Everton manager had little option but to return his industry to midfield. Fortunately for Moyes, he had enough craft in the outstanding Mikel Arteta plus Steven Pienaar and James McFadden to compensate for a makeshift partnership against a Boro team that fashioned three glorious chances in the opening half-hour but lost heart, purpose and ambition when they failed to take any.
The visitors had squandered their first invitation of the contest, George Boateng side-footing wide a Lee Dong-gook cross with only Tim Howard to beat, before Joleon Lescott gave Everton the necessary comfort of a seventh-minute lead. Mark Schwarzer was badly caught out at a near-post corner from Arteta and though Jonathan Woodgate cleared off the line to prevent Yakubu Ayegbeni scoring against his former club, his intervention fell kindly for Lescott to convert. This was the centre-half's fourth goal of the season, all from his head and all from set pieces, and made him the unlikely name at the top of Everton's goalscoring chart.
Boro offered minimal threat after the interval and, with Mido limping off with a pelvic problem, they finished with the defender David Wheater and rookie Tom Craddock up front.
McFadden and Arteta were allowed to roam unopposed into the Boro penalty area in the 58th minute and the Spaniard's disguised pass presented Pienaar with his first goal for the club, the South African midfielder finishing into the bottom corner then falling to his knees and offering a prayer to the heavens. There will be a few more from Everton before this week is out.
- Guardian Service
